Name: ________________ Date: ______________

Writing to Inform - Informational Paragraph

Outline (collaborative)

Directions: Create an outline for a paragraph based on a claim.

Example:

Claim: While the American Revolution was mainly the result of changing ideas, the War of 1812 was caused by economic factors.

• Evidence 1: American Revolution: print culture

• Analysis 1: greater spread of Enlightenment + revolutionary ideas → united colonists

• Evidence 2: restrictive trade during Napoleonic Wars + Embargo Act of 1807

• Analysis 2: 1812: strained economy

Concluding Sentence: War of 1812 + American Revolution both important conflicts in US History, but different causes

Outline

Claim: Joseph Plumb Martin and Sybil Ludington both had a common goal of supporting American independence during the Revolutionary War, but there are important differences in the contributions they made.

• Evidence 1:

• Analysis 1:

• Evidence 2:

• Analysis 2:

Concluding Sentence:

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Answer Key and Teacher Resources

Answer Key

Outline

Claim: Joseph Plumb Martin and Sybil Ludington both had a common goal of supporting American independence during the Revolutionary War, but there are important differences in the contributions they made.

• Evidence 1: Martin: directly experienced + contributed to key military engagements + wrote memoirs of daily life of soldiers

• Analysis 1: memoirs offer insights into war's realities for readers + enrich historical understanding

• Evidence 2: Ludington: single, heroic act of riding through night to alert militia of impending British attack

• Analysis 2: inspired others then and now, a symbol of youthful bravery

Concluding Sentence: different roles, but both remembered as young heroes

Recommendations for Instruction:

1. Teacher thinks aloud while creating an outline for their model no-source paragraph for Prompt 1. Teacher should write the topic sentence as a complete sentence, but all other parts of the outline should be written as notes.

2. Then, students work in partners to create a collaborative outline for Prompt 2.